Automakers' Report Card: Who Still Owes Taxpayers Money? The Answer Might Surprise You

It’s been three years since General Motors and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy, but with the political season in full swing, the two presidential candidates have put the auto industry bailouts back in the public eye, at least through the November election. Yet there’s only one Detroit automaker still in hock to U.S. taxpayers and – guess what? – it’s not GM or Chrysler.

Ford Motor owes the government $5.9 billion it borrowed in June 2009, the same month GM filed for bankruptcy. By Sept. 15, Ford needs to start paying that money back. In a government filing, the carmaker said $577 million is due within the next year, and the full amount must be paid off by June 15, 2022.

The Obama Administration, dreaming of a million electric cars on the road by 2015, loaned Ford the money to help it pay for development of hybrids and EVs, and to retool its factories to produce smaller, cleaner vehicles. While not characterized as a “bailout” by any means, let’s be honest: Ford’s loan – received at a critical time when other sources of financing weren’t available to automakers or their suppliers – no doubt helped the carmaker survive the industry crisis and contributed to its strong market position today, especially after the Obama Administration finalized tougher fuel economy rules this week.

Indeed, lest we forget: the feds in 2009 were handing out fistfuls of cash to bolster the auto industry, beyond the $64 billion used to bail out GM and Chrysler. Treasury staked another $18.7 billion on rescuing the companies’ auto lending affiliates (it still owns 74% of Ally, formerly known as GMAC). And the Energy Department doled out billions more to Ford and others to preserve auto-making jobs in the U.S. while steering the industry toward cleaner vehicles.

“We have an historic opportunity to help ensure that the next generation of fuel-efficient cars and trucks are made in America,” President Barack Obama said in a statement on June 23, 2009 announcing the loans to Ford and two others. Energy Secretary Steven Chu added: "By supporting key technologies and sound business plans, we can jumpstart the production of fuel efficient vehicles in America. These investments will come back to our country many times over – by creating new jobs, reducing our dependence on oil, and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions."

No company was a bigger beneficiary of the DOE’s green car funding initiative than Ford. It received two-thirds of the $8.8 billion loaned under the department’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program. Congress appropriated $25 billion for that program in late 2008, during the waning days of the Bush Administration, around the same time the auto company CEOs were getting grilled on Capitol Hill.

The other ATVM recipients were Nissan ($1.6 billion), Tesla Motors ($465 million), Fisker Automotive ($529 million) and the Vehicle Production Group ($50 million), a start-up company promoting a handicapped-accessible van that runs on natural gas.

The DOE spent another $2.4 billion in federal stimulus money – most of it in Michigan – to provide matching grants to help companies build manufacturing facilities for advanced batteries and EV components. Unlike the ATVM loan program, those grants don’t have to be paid back.

So how did all that government aid for the auto industry work out? The results are mixed, at best. Chrysler, despite its long odds, is doing surprisingly well under Fiat ownership. Successful turnarounds at GM and Ford in the U.S. are weighed down by problems in Europe.

But car buyers, it seems, weren’t nearly as excited about electric vehicles as President Obama, who has since backed off his 2015 EV target. Most of the government-backed battery factories are operating well below their production capacity. Many recipients have shifted their focus away from electric vehicles toward grid storage opportunities. At least three recipients of federal funding collapsed or are struggling to stay afloat. Battery-maker A123 Systems, desperate for money, fell into the hands of a Chinese auto supplier. Another, Ener1, went bankrupt and is now owned by a Russian business tycoon.

If you’re keeping score (and you should be) here’s a rundown of how some of the government’s largest auto industry investments turned out: